George Cochrane Hazelton

George Cochrane Hazelton
1st Attorney General of the District of Columbia
In office 1889–1893
Appointed by	Benjamin Harrison
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Sidney J. Thomas
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 3rd district
In office March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1883
Preceded by	Henry S. Magoon
Succeeded by	Burr W. Jones
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 16th district
In office January 6, 1868 – January 1, 1872
Preceded by	John H. Rountree
Succeeded by	John Chandler Holloway
Personal details
Born	January 3, 1832 Chester, New Hampshire, U.S.
Died	September 4, 1922(1922-09-04) (aged 90) Chester, New Hampshire, U.S.
Resting place	Vale Cemetery, Schenectady, New York
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Ellen Van Antwerp ​ (died 1884)​
Children	George Cochrane Hazelton Jr. John Hampden Hazelton
Relatives	Gerry Whiting Hazelton (brother) Clark Betton Cochrane (nephew)
Alma mater	Union College
Profession	Lawyer, politician

George Cochrane Hazelton (January 3, 1832 – September 4, 1922) was an American attorney and politician. He represented Wisconsin in the United States House of Representatives for the 45th, 46th, and 47th U.S. congresses, and was the first appointed attorney general of the District of Columbia.

Born in Chester, New Hampshire, Hazelton attended the district schools and prepared for college at Pinkerton Academy in New Hampshire and Dummer Academy in Massachusetts. Hazelton graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York, in 1858.^[1] He studied law and was admitted to the bar in Malone, New York.

Hazelton then settled at Boscobel, Wisconsin, where he became prosecuting attorney of Grant County, Wisconsin, from 1864 to 1868. He was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1867 and was reelected in 1869 and served as president pro tempore.^[2]

Elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives in the Forty-fifth, Forty-sixth, and Forty-seventh congresses, representing Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district.^[3] He was unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1882 and settled in Washington, D.C., where he practiced law and served as the attorney general for the District of Columbia during the Harrison administration.

Hazelton was among a large group of congressmen who advocated doctrines of racial superiority. He argued against the immigration of "unworthy" races, and said of the Chinese "I know that if the segment of her population now upon the Pacific shores is the standard and measure of her home civilization, it is of the lowest order.”^[4]

Hazelton was son of William and Mercy Jane Hazelton. His older brother, Gerry Whiting Hazelton, was also a member of Congress, and a prominent lawyer in Wisconsin. His nephew, Clark Betton Cochrane, was a member of Congress from New York.

He married Ellen Van Antwerp and they had two sons, George Jr. and John Hampden.^[5]

Hazelton died in Chester, New Hampshire, on September 4, 1922, at the age of 90. He is interred at Vale Cemetery, Schenectady, New York.

• United States Congress. "George Cochrane Hazelton (id: H000418)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• George Cochrane Hazelton at Find a Grave